There is yet another story central to the debate concerning the relevance
of gender in the path to Buddhahood in the text Questions of Vimaladatta(dri ma
med kyis byin pas zhus pa, Vimaladattaparipṛīccha).248 Vimaladatta was the
daughter of Kosala‘s king Prasenjit, a contemporary of the historic Buddha. On the way to a bathing ceremony accompanied by hundreds of Brāhmiṇs on her
twelfth birthday, Vimaladatta and her entourage met some Buddhist monks.
After a long conversation with them, Vimaladatta went to see the Buddha and
requested he teach her the various aspects of a Bodhisattva‘s way of life. Having
received the teachings, Vimaladatta pledged to take up all the practices of a
Bodhisattva. Seeing her pledging thus, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, another senior
247 An identical narrative is also found in another Mahāyāna text named Lotus Sūtra
(dam chos pad dkar, Sadharmapuṇdārika-sūtram) in which the Nāga princess is understood to have symbolically transformed into a male Nāga. See, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-nāma-mahāyāna- sūtra // dam pa'i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo// Lhasa (lha sa): (H 116) mdo sde, ja 1b1-285b2 (vol. 53)ff. 139a - 158b; For more discussion on this, see Nancy Schuster, "Changing the Female Body: Wise Women and the Bodhisattva Career in Some Mahāratnakūṭasūtras," Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 4, no. 1 (1981): 42-44.; Diana Y Paul, "Buddhist Attitudes Toward Women's Bodies," Buddhist-Christian Studies 1(1981): 66-67.
248 Ārya-vimaladattā-paripṛcchā-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra // 'phags pa dri ma med kyis byin pas zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo// Derge (sde dge): (D 77) dkon brtsegs, ca 241a1-261b6 (vol. 43); For further discussion on this, see Schuster, "Changing the Female Body: Wise Women and the Bodhisattva Career in Some Mahāratnakūṭasūtras," 31-35.
142
monk disciple, comments that: ―It is amazing that you are pledging thus, are you
not aware that the Bodhisattva practices are very difficult to accomplish?‖249
In response to this question, Vimaladatta performed a ritual called ‗act of
truth‘. She said that by the power of truth, if she is to become a Buddha in the
future like the present Buddha, may the earth quake without affecting anyone,
may flowers rain down, may there be un-played music and may she herself be
turned into a young boy of sixteen. Immediately afterwards, Vimaladatta indeed
transformed into a boy of sixteen.250
All the monk disciples and Bodhisattvas present were amazed by the
power of Vimaladatta‘s truth, wondering how she could have such powers. The
Buddha then told the gathering that Vimaladatta had since long ago resolved to
achieve Buddhahood, and that she had been a Bodhisattva for a long time. The
249 In some Chinese translations, Mahāmaudgalyayana says she cannot pledge the Bodhisattva vows because she is a woman. See ibid. 35; Ārya-vimaladattā-paripṛcchā-nāma-
mahāyāna-sūtra // 'phags pa dri ma med kyis byin pas zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo// Derge (sde dge): (D 77) dkon brtsegs, ca 257b – ―de nas tshe dang ldan pa mong gal gyi bu chen pos bu mo dri ma med kyis byin pa la „di skad ces smras so, bu mo khyod de skad smra ba ni ngo mtshar te, byang chub sems dpa‟ rnams kyi byang chub sems dpa‟i spyod pa bsgrub dka‟ ba mi shes sam‖
250 Ibid., ff. 257b – 258a – ―de nas bu mo dri ma med kyis gnas brtan mong gal gyi bu chen po la „di skad ces smras so, btsun pa mong gal gyi bu chen po bden pa dang bden pa‟i tshig gang gis bdag ma „ongs pa‟i dus na ji ltar da ltar de bzhin gshegs pa mngon sum du bzhugs pa bzhin du de bzhin gshegs pa dgra bcom pa yang dag par rdzogs pa‟i sangs rgyas su „gur ba dang, ji ltar brtags pa‟i chos „di dag kyang yang dag par blangs te gnas par „gyur zhe na, bden pa dang bden pa‟i tshig des stong gsum gyi stong chen po‟i „jig rten gyi khams „di rnam pa drug tu gyos par gyur cig, sems can gang la yang gnod pa med par gyur cig, bden pa dang bden pa‟i tshig gang gis bcom ldan „das kyis ji ltar brtags pa‟i chos „di dag yang dag par blangs te gnas par „gyur zhe na, bden pa dang bden pa‟i tshig des lha‟i me tog gi char mngon par „bab par gyur cig, ma dkrol bar sil snyan bye ba khrag khrig brgya stong sgra „byinpar gyur cig, bdag kyang bud me kyi lus las gyur te skyes pa‟i lus su red cing lo bcu drug lon pa „dra bar gyur cig, smon lam de skad btab cing bden pa‟i byin gyi rlabs „di byas ma thag tu de nas de‟i mod la stong gsum gyi stong chen po‟i „jig rten gyi khams „di yang rnam pa drug tu gyos, ma dkrol bar sil snyan bye ba khrag khrig brgya stong gi sgra yang byung, lha‟i me tog gi char yang mngon par bab bo, bu mo dri ma med kyis byin pa yang bud med kyi lus me snang bar gyur te skyes pa‟i dbang po thob nas lo bcu drug lon pa tsam gyi gzhon nu „dra bar snang ngo”
143
text concludes with the Buddha‘s prophecy of her future Buddhahood. Unlike the
Nāga girl who retained her female body throughout the debate, Vimaladatta transformed herself into a boy. However, the transformation she enacted was not
in response to Mahāmaudgalyāyana‘s discouragement but the display of a
miraculous power demonstrating the transcendent nature of gendered bodies.
Vimaladatta demonstrated that such appearances are mere denominations and can
be reversed instantly when one realizes the true nature of phenomena.
Hence, regardless of the fact of her turning into a boy, I believe this
narrative is still vital in refuting the Śrāvakayāna view, particularly the
Theravādin view of the impossibility of a female Bodhisattva. This is because the Buddha not only predicted her future Buddhahood, he proclaimed Vimaladatta to
be a long standing Bodhisattva; an advanced female Bodhisattva until the
moment of magical transformation. Indeed, this powerful demonstration of a
miracle by Vimaladatta is in itself a great achievement. This will be followed by
an even greater demonstration of miracles by another advanced female
Bodhisattva appearing as a goddess amidst an assembly of monks and male
144